Troy Doris anxious to represent Guyana at the Olympics
By Treiston Joseph
Allow News Room Sports to introduce you to a possible Olympic medalist in Troy Doris. The 27-year-old is a Guyanese by naturalisation, with both his parents originating out of East La Penitence, Georgetown.
Doris is one of three athletes to qualify for the Olympics, with the other two being Brenessa Thompson and Winston George.
The Iowa University standout currently has the second best jump of 2016 with a leap of 17.10 metres which also happens to be a national record.
American Christian Taylor, considered the best in the world, currently leads the world in the triple jump with a leap of 17.11 metres.
Nevertheless, Doris who has never visited Guyana sees the Land of Many Waters as a highly cultured nation.
He said that he’s “thankfully my family living in the States are very cultured, so essentially I was raised with Guyanese values while living in the states, so viewing Guyana as a nation and the people, I’m anticipating that things are going to be very traditional of course but exciting”
“Guyanese people no matter where they live or from are family oriented and have strong values/culture and I feel like that’s a reflection of the nation, so growing up, and even now, I have this strong love for Guyana because I’ve been raised with the great values and assured that I know who I am and what my culture is,” Doris told News Room Sports in an exclusive interview.
However, the talented triple jumper explained the situation behind him representing Guyana at this stage in his career instead of earlier.
“It wasn’t until my junior year of college at the University of Iowa where I found information with regards to competing for Guyana. My jumps coach at Iowa, Clive Roberts, who is also Guyanese, told me about these possibilities. I was somewhat naive about the citizenship situation until I met him. I’ve been wanting to represent Guyana since 2012 but there was a miscommunication with processing my passport therefore I didn’t receive the passport until 2015,” Doris explained.
“My whole family has always been invested in my track and field career (jumping as a USA athlete) but I feel like since I’ve made this switch it has amplified that investment,” Doris stated.
Meanwhile, Doris stressed how important it is to represent the Land of Many Waters at the Olympics, stating, “there’s no feeling of anxiety or being overwhelmed because I’m genuinely happy for the opportunity. When I get to the games, I have every intention of making the finals and then when I’m in the finals I’m going to compete at my best and get the highest ranking possible”.
In addition, Doris talked about breaking the national record earlier this year which happens to also be his new personal best of 17.10 metres, added “It feels good to have my name in the record books for sure. That was the first goal I wanted to accomplish as soon as I was cleared to represent Guyana and of course, like any athlete I want to make that record mine for as long as possible”.
Doris will also compete in Guyana for the first time at the Aliann Pompey Invitational which is set for June 18 at the National Track and Field Centre, Leonora.